Children's Little Golden Books
You may have read these classical children’s books, or your parents and even grandparents. They proved to be just the right length of words and content to keep a young child – age 3-7 interested. The Little Golden Books were easy to spot with their shiny spines of gold.
These books were first published in 1942 by Western Publishing. There were just twelve books titles to begin with. Such titles as ‘Mother Goose’, ‘The Animals of Farmer Jones’, ‘Three Little Kittens’ and ‘The Alphabet A-Z’ to name a few. The cost of 25 cents was low so families could afford them. Over the years the price did go up, such as 49 cents a book today when a new one costs $5.00 each.
The books were made of a very thick cardboard front and back cover and slightly thicker pages so the books could last and be handed down.
In 1944, Disney artists appeared in the book ‘Through the Picture Frame’. Many well-known authors were added over the years also. The most popular Little Golden Book of all time is ‘The Poky Little Puppy’, written by Janette Sebring Lowrey. The book was illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren, who was the chief illustrator for the Disney film, Snow White, and who worked on the Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio films as well.
The different books have increased over the years from the original 12 in 1942, to 57 titles in 1947 and in the 21st century over 1,4000 book titles. Similar young children’s books came out over the years from different companies such as Elf Books.
Many people collect the early vintage ‘Little Golden Books’. Check with family members, see if any are still with the family.
Photo: Little Golden Book “‘The Alphabet A-Z’”
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